Watch Butterflies & Other Lepidopterans

Live-action footage captures a butterfly chrysalis warding off its enemies and highlights the scaly wings that are characteristic of all Lepidopterans. Each stage of metamorphosis is filmed: mating, egg laying, hatching, molting, chrysalis formation, and emergence of the adult butterfly. Butterfly caterpillars are depicted as equally destructive as moth caterpillars. Close-up images reveal how the proboscis draws nectar from deep inside flowers or from other liquid food sources.